Thursday 20th June saw two titans of the pub world, Steve Goodyear, Chairman of Young & Co.’s Brewery P.L.C and Ian Payne, former Chairman of Stonegate Pub Group, unite to celebrate a landmark 100 years in the industry.

Taking place at Smith’s of Smithfield in Farringdon, Steve and Ian came together to mark their incredible careers, ahead of their retirements.

Goodyear first joined the pub operator in 1995 as its Sales and Marketing Director, after 21 years with Courage Brewery, before becoming the CEO in 2003. Widely credited for transforming Young’s into one of the country’s most successful premium pub groups, as CEO, he led on multiple pub acquisitions, delivering record-breaking profits across 2 decades. Since 2017, Steve has held the position of non-executive chairman and will be taking his well-deserved retirement from the board in July.

With over 50 years of experience in the licensed leisure sector, Ian Payne served as the Chairman of Stonegate Group until January 2024. First founded by Payne in 2010, Stonegate has since become the UK’s largest pub and bar company with 4,500 sites and over 15,000 employees nationwide. A highly regarded industry leader, Ian has been an advocate for supporting the bar-to-board culture and was instrumental in balancing the board with female executives. 2018 saw Ian receive an MBE for his services to the hospitality and the pub industry and he is now looking forward to enjoying his time at a more leisurely pace.

Teams from both Young’s Pubs and Stonegate Pub Group joined together to celebrate the huge impact Steve and Ian have had on shaping the pub industry, raising a glass to their veteran careers.